


Settle for Second Best (discontinued)

by HerBrazenElegance



Category: DRAMAtical Murder
Genre: Drug Use, M/M, hateship-typical arguments and a lot of face punching
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-23
Updated: 2014-08-18
Packaged: 2018-01-13 11:35:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1224802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HerBrazenElegance/pseuds/HerBrazenElegance
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where Aoba chooses Mink and things don't end up for two of the losers quite as bad as you'd think.</p><p>Edit: 3/15/2015<br/>I'm still getting questions from people about whether or not I'll finish this, so I'll just announce right on the fic that no, I am not. As with the last multi-chaptered story I began, I spent too much time worrying about perfecting the story and basically pleasing others rather than just writing it for myself and ended up becoming distanced from the fandom in that time to the point where I want very little to do with it anymore. Further explanation of the story's events I had planned out can be found <a href="http://brazuu.tumblr.com/post/109734943895/">here</a> if you're curious.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Somebody Fix Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tumblr url: brazuu.tumblr.com  
> Feel free to bug me whenever you want!
> 
> As always, enjoy the start of another story, and don't forget to leave feedback or drop kudos. You wouldn't even believe how nice it is to have an inbox full of happy readers. c:
> 
> The [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qaCITJDMj4/) that inspired the chapter title.  
> 

The streets of the Old Residential District were as bright and alive as usual, mostly with those returning home from a day of work or going out for an evening drink. Two men belonging to the latter group slumped their way to the nearest bar in depressing silence, passing small shops with their 'open' signs turning off one by one.

“Well, shit,” Noiz had said just an hour before. He had stopped by to visit Aoba for the day only to find his rival just exiting his house with a half-wave to Tae.

“He’s gone,” Koujaku explained after getting over his surprise at bumping into him.

“Just like that?” Noiz asked.

“Pretty much.”

“Do you know where?”

“Does it matter?” Koujaku gave him one of the most defeated looks he’d ever seen. “He’s not coming back. He’s determined to find that bastard, Mink, even if it ends up killing him. I’m too late.”

It didn’t show on his face – rarely anything did – but Noiz understood immediately, stared at the ground for a long time while Koujaku wilted down onto the sidewalk with his head in his hands. Normally Noiz would have reveled in seeing Koujaku this upset about something, would have never let him live it down if he broke down in front of him. But when it came to Aoba they were both losers this time, and so Noiz left it alone.

“Life goes on then, huh?” Koujaku laughed humorlessly. “We’re supposed to be just be okay with him taking off with a fucking death wish?”

“You want him to be happy, don’t you?” Noiz said quietly. He expected Koujaku to fly into a rage at that, but he was clearly too broken to be that upset about it.

“Yeah,” Koujaku admitted after a long silence. “I shouldn’t be selfish. He’s better off without me anyway,” he added, rubbing his eyes roughly.

Noiz sighed and stared at the clouds, not appreciating Koujaku’s self-deprecating comment for once. “Wanna go get drunk?”

Koujaku lifted his head slowly out of his hands and looked at him strangely. “Is a kid like you even old enough to drink?”

Noiz rolled his eyes and began to walk away. “Come on, old man. I’ll help you cross the street.” Noiz continued walking, not caring either way if he accepted the invitation. Koujaku waited until he was a fair distance away before he worked up the nerve to stand again and follow, eventually catching up with him.

And so they ended up downtown in some less than terrible hole-in-the-wall bar run by a woman covered in trashy tattoos that didn’t even bothering checking their IDs before serving up whatever drinks Noiz paid for, and they proceeded to get progressively smashed.

“Never thought I’d see this day,” Koujaku said, a light blush spread over his cheeks.

“Is this your first time getting rejected or something?” Noiz asked rudely, but Koujaku only laughed.

“Little shit,” he said. “No, I could tell you a whole list of ways girls have shot me down–“

“Nothing I want to hear, but you’ll probably tell me anyway,” Noiz cut in.

“Well, I won’t, actually,” Koujaku said, shifting in his seat uncomfortably. “I just never thought I’d be sharing drinks with someone I consider an enemy.”

Noiz stirred the ice in his drink thoughtfully. “So why are you here then?”

“Where else do I have to be?” Koujaku answered. “I went to visit Aoba today to tell him how I felt, but… you know.”

Noiz nodded and threw back the rest of his drink. “Sucks,” was all he responded with.

“How many years did I waste,” Koujaku muttered, elbows on the table and hands buried in his hair. They slid down his face as he sighed, rubbing his eyes.

“I was gonna marry him,” they both muttered in unison, locking eyes for a brief moment after the words were out.

And then they were on the floor in a tumble of limbs, Noiz unsure how he'd ended up on his back with Koujaku on top of him with a fist pulled back menacingly. Noiz moved just fast enough to avoid a black eye, latched onto Koujaku's collar, and slammed their foreheads together. He shoved out from under him and attempted to stand upright while Koujaku cleared the stars from his vision. They were about to go at it again when the bartender leapt over the counter, holding Koujaku back along with a few other patrons. Likewise, Noiz thrashed about like an animal in the arms of some strangers.

“Out!” She shouted too close to Koujaku's ear. “Both of you need to leave. Go home!” She yelled, giving Koujaku a firm shove outside and threatening to kick both of their asses if they showed up again. The door slammed behind them as they were quite literally thrown out, Koujaku stumbling forward into a streetlight with Noiz landing on his hands and knees.

At the same time Koujaku straightened up, Noiz was up and ready to fight again, slugging him in the mouth and nearly knocking him to the ground again. He smiled triumphantly, only to have Koujaku shove him angrily into the alleyway nearby. Noiz slammed against an overflowing dumpster with several painful-sounding thuds, steadying himself up against it before sloppily running toward Koujaku again for another swing. But Koujaku seized his wrists once he came close and, with a cocky smile, slammed their heads together like before. Noiz was otherwise unfazed except for his already drunken balance being broken. Again, he steadied himself, bracing against the corner of the bar. Instead of immediately getting back into the brawl, however, he went pale and quickly turned away from Koujaku, hiding partially behind the dumpster.

Koujaku opened his mouth to taunt him but stopped once he heard the boy begin to wretch and heave.

“Jesus, kid,” Koujaku sighed, rubbing his head where they collided. “You're a fuckin' mess.” Relieved of his bloodlust thanks to a headache forming – and really, why were they fighting over a boy long gone anyway? – Koujaku leaned up against the streetlight and let Noiz finish throwing up in peace.

“You don't look so hot either,” Noiz said several minutes late. Wobbly, he stepped onto the sidewalk. “Your lip is bleeding.”

“I'll have to beat you for that later,” Koujaku said, touching the injury gently and grimacing when his fingers came back red. “Do I need to take you to a hospital or what?”

Noiz snorted. “Look at you, trying to be my big brother suddenly.”

“You just threw up, you lightweight,” Koujaku said. “Just because I want to slap off whatever stupid look you always have on your face doesn't mean I need you dying on my watch. Especially if you paid for me.”

“I'll let you catch the bill on our next date,” Noiz said, making to leave already.

“Knock it off,” Koujaku groaned. “Do you even have a place to live?”

Noiz stayed quiet and avoided his eyes, to which Koujaku turned away dramatically and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Come to my place for the night.”

Noiz burst out laughing. “What was that?”

“You heard me,” Koujaku said, not without some loss of his dignity. He turned back to face Noiz with crossed arms.

“What kinda fuckin' joke,” Noiz began, but he had to stop for the laughter that took over. “Sorry, papa, I don't fuck on the first date.”

“Oh, please,” Koujaku huffed, clicking his tongue. “I just wanna make sure you don't get into trouble, okay?”

“Right,” Noiz said sarcastically. “Wouldn't want me getting beat up by some old guy.”

“Will you stop? I'm trying to apologise,” Koujaku finally said.

They both were quiet for a long time, and the dark night air around them seemed to reflect it. Hardly anyone was still walking about in the area, leaving the two to weigh their options for the evening in silence.

“Okay,” Noiz said.

“Okay what?” Koujaku asked.

“Where do you live?”

Koujaku uncrossed his arms in relief and walked past Noiz, leading the way. “This way for a while. It's kind of a long walk, but I think you'll manage if you're done getting sick.”

“Sure. Just don't fall down and break a hip on me, old man.”


	2. Cry for Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kind of a short one again. I'm not entirely proud of this part but ??? Oh well. I have big plans. You guys will just have to wait for the good stuff coming! c:
> 
> Another [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81qLYOySVvg) for the chapter title.

Koujaku awoke slowly, reluctantly. He shifted uncomfortably away from the dim morning light cast through his bedroom window, which normally blinded him until he couldn't stand it and he forced himself awake for the day, but the clouds outside today were an ominous grey and heavy with rain. He lay there for a long while, eventually stretching out on the empty mattress and rubbing off an embarrassing line of drool that had run down his cheek.

“Not today,” he muttered to himself, a lame apology to any of the women looking forward to getting their hair cut that day.

Memories of the evening before flooded in and sunk his mood immediately. Aoba is gone, and he never got a chance to be honest with him. Noiz _isn't_ gone, in fact the shit even stayed the night, but only due to some stupid, drunken idea that Koujaku needed to take care of him. He sighed and rubbed his eyes roughly, finally sat up and scooted off the bed and threw on something vaguely shirt-like.

Koujaku, testing his tender lip with a finger, stepped into the living area and cast a gross look at the blond boy on his couch when they met each other's gazes briefly. Noiz went back to tapping away at a small floating screen, indifferent.

“You look like shit,” Koujaku said as he turned into the kitchen area.

“You should see the other guy,” Noiz responded.

Koujaku's brow furrowed at the comment, but he went on to open his refrigerator and hunt for scraps. He could cook some foods – kind of a habit that one picks up after a few years of guests spending the night – but that didn't mean there was always enough for a full meal in his house, especially with Tae's cooking available right around the corner.

Not that he would be visiting there as often as he used to anymore.

Koujaku shook his head and blinked hard. “Do you eat?” he called loud enough for Noiz to hear.

“What kind of a question is that?”

“A necessary one.” Koujaku buried his face into the refrigerator and pulled out a couple of containers.

Noiz closed out of all the programs in front of him and stood up lazily, already shoving on his shoes by the entryway. “I don't think this is necessary,” he said. “I don't even know why I agreed to follow you home.”

“I don't know why I offered,” Koujaku mumbled. Then, loud enough for Noiz to hear, “Does that mean you're taking off without breakfast?” Koujaku stood up and turned, found Noiz standing just behind him.

“I should thank you for taking care of my drunk ass, right?” Noiz came nose to nose with Koujaku and ran his hands up Koujaku's chest, down to his thighs, swept around the other side to grope his rear.

“What are you doing, brat?” Koujaku grumbled, slapping his hands away.

“This is what you wanted right from the beginning, isn't it?” Noiz answered calmly. He placed his hands back at Koujaku's hips and thumbed the hem of his pajama pants. “Don't try to tell me no one's ever sexed you up as a way of showing gratitude, Mr. Hair Care.”

“Uh, well, I'm not saying that,” Koujaku said awkwardly. “But I think you might have misinterpreted something.”

“Doubt it,” Noiz said, a touch of irritation growing in his tone as his fingers slipped past the fabric and down to Koujaku's groin. “That's the way the world works, right? You suck my dick, I suck yours.”

“I don't think that's how the saying goes.” Koujaku winced between words at the rough way Noiz tugged his limp cock to life, but he made no further attempts at stopping him. A logical part of his mind might have told him it was wrong to let him do this somehow – Noiz was only the fucking bane of his existence – but then who was he to stop a man on a mission, especially one that ended with him getting off?

“Does this mean I'm gonna owe you too, then?” Koujaku asked, more to clear the clumsy silence than anything.

Noiz smirked. “I think you'd shit if you got too personal with my cock.” He dropped down to his knees, taking Koujaku's pants down with him.

“Fair enough. Not like I'd be that willing anyway.” Koujaku stuttered at the end and unconsciously backed up into the counter behind himself when Noiz's warm mouth came over him. Noiz scooted forward without missing a beat and took him in even further, buried his nose in the dark hair before him and stayed there for several long seconds. He dragged his tongue and piercing along the underside of his cock as he came back up for air, licking away excess saliva and looking up at Koujaku's flushed face and parted lips with a hand working him in place of his mouth.

Koujaku pulled himself together and flicked Noiz's cheek gently. “Don't look so pleased with yourself,” he said, to which Noiz hummed and continued by lapping at his swollen head. Noiz teased him for a while until Koujaku reached for the back of his head and pushed him back onto his cock, which he swallowed with the most frustrating ease. He gripped Noiz's hair tightly, thrust into his mouth a couple times, then relaxed suddenly and was nearly massaging his fingers through the boy's locks.

“Soft,” Koujaku breathed without thinking. Noiz's eyebrows knitted together and his movements slowed just slightly. “Ah, your hair,” Koujaku clarified. “Not me. I'm, uh... damn.” His eyes fluttered shut for a second. “Can you do that thing again?”

Noiz obliged, took all of him in with one smooth motion and held steady for a few seconds while Koujaku twitched in his throat. Noiz swallowed reflexively around him despite his insensitive nerves, inadvertently drawing a weak moan from Koujaku. He attempted to pull back, but his head was held in place by him, forcing him to continue swallowing even though his body began to react to the loss of oxygen. He grunted quietly, drool spilling down his chin, vision becoming blurred with little sparkles on the edges, and just when he thought he might go unconscious, Koujaku finally released him and let him draw in a much needed breath.

“Alright?” Koujaku asked, almost as breathless as the boy on his knees.

Noiz wiped off his face with the back of his sleeve and, without giving him an answer, jumped straight back into sucking him, bobbing his head roughly and flicking his piercing across Koujaku's leaking tip. He made short work of the man after that, had him groaning and gasping and warning that he would lose it any second, which only made Noiz work him harder until a familiar salty liquid spilled across his tongue.

Noiz sat back on his heels, watched Koujaku collapse into the counter and try to rearrange himself. Then he stood and moved for the entryway, leaving Koujaku alone to bask in the afterglow.

“Hey, that's it?” Koujaku said, somewhat slurred.

“Yep. Seeya,” Noiz replied. The door closed behind him with a deafening silence in its wake.

Koujaku slumped against the counter and ran a hand through his fringe, an unconscious habit he had yet to break. He glanced around the kitchen, remembered the food he was going to make, remembered that there were other real life things going on and that a weirdly impressive blowjob shouldn't have taken his mind off of them. Though there were certainly worse ways to spend a morning.

“Okay,” he said to no one. “Okay?” He repeated, a little more curious, as if he wasn't sure he believed himself the first time.

After a while he straightened up and resumed the cooking process, going through the motions with a peculiar look on his face. The bare kitchen filled with scents that made his stomach ache deeply, and once he sat down to eat, the meal brought relief to him in more ways than one. He breathed easily, cleaned up after himself, and probably did not think about any stupid blond kids trying to mess with his life.

In fact, he needn't worry for several more days after that, since Noiz didn't return for another three weeks.


	3. True Affection

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY got this part finished. I had originally intended to include more in this chapter, but after fleshing it out I realised I had a lot more details and conversations I wanted in this chapter than I thought. So I cut it into two parts, and will hopefully have the second half finished within the coming weeks. For now, enjoy some nerds.
> 
> A [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyWoZD5xfM8) for the title.

A high-pitched squeal, like that of a small animal being killed, rang out and bounced off of the four corners of Koujaku's bedroom.

“Koujaku!” A woman cried, drawing out the last syllable of his name. She sat in front of the vanity mirror and admired his work, running her fingers excitedly through her straight, dark locks and grinning widely. Then she threw her arms around his neck and planted her mouth on his, nearly hanging off of him. Koujaku wobbled a bit, taken by surprise at her forwardness but eventually returning the kiss happily. His arms came around her waist, bunching the fabric of her shirt at her lower back, but when her tongue dared to enter his mouth he broke away.

“How do you feel?” He asked quietly.

“Amazing!” She squealed again. “You did such a good job, Koujaku! It's exactly what I wanted. I don't know how to thank you enough.”

“Cash and a smile are always effective,” Koujaku said playfully.

“Are you sure there isn't something else you want on top of that?” She asked with an obvious shift in tone. Her arms came apart behind his neck, hands sliding over his shoulders and down his chest. He hummed in response and rubbed his hands over her back appreciatively.

“I've been known to accept a gift or two,” he said, a cheeky smirk spread on his face. He came forward and kissed her ear, moved down to her neck and nibbled lightly. Her hands circled around to his back, no doubt admiring his build silently. When she'd had her fill, she moved back up to his shoulders and attempted to push the top half of his kimono from his shoulders, but he gently caught her hands before she could do so.

“We might have to have a rain check, though,” he said gently. At her disappointed pout, he added, “I've got other appointments after this one. I can't leave customers waiting longer than they have to, can I?” She wore a hurt look but agreed with him, blushing deeply when his hand cupped the side of her face. “Maybe you'll find something you don't like about it after all and come back, hm?” He kissed the corner of her mouth in apology.

Koujaku showed her out politely, laying on the usual charm all the way until she waved goodbye and the exit to the outside world was closed. His shoulders sunk immediately and his forehead thumped on the doorframe in defeat.

 

* * *

 The can hissed and popped, and Koujaku took a deep drink, choking down the less-than-quality flavor. Even with the walls to Platinum Jail broken down, those with any desire for a drink that didn't burn all the way down and leave an unpleasant aftertaste were still unlikely to come across anything really worth it without venturing into the place again. But Koujaku was a weak man and would take what he could get.

He had just taken Beni out of sleep mode and was pacing his living room when a knock sounded at the door.

“Who's here?” Beni asked, perching on Koujaku's shoulder.

“No idea.” He crossed the room and pulled open the light wooden door, brow furrowing deeply at the sight before him.

“Hey,” Noiz said.

“The bitch!” Beni cried, and the door slammed shut. Koujaku had only walked a few steps away from it before his unwelcome guest continued pounding on the door. “Go away,” he called. The knocking, a consistent _tap tap tap tap tap,_ didn't cease until Koujaku had taken another gulp of beer and finally hoisted himself up off of the couch again.

“What?” Koujaku demanded.

“What'd you do to that girl? She looked pissed.”

“I don't know what you're talking about,” Koujaku answered flatly.

“Right. Got any more of that?” Noiz eyed the drink in his hand curiously.

“No. What do you want?”

“Geez,” Noiz huffed. “If I knew you'd be so welcoming I would have come over sooner.” He backtracked when Koujaku attempted to close the door again, caught it with his foot before the latch could click.

“I just wanted to see if you were still alive.”

“You see me, don't you?” Koujaku said. “I'm fine.”

“Yeah!” Beni piped up. “Go away now, bitch.”

“You sure about that, old man?”

“Noiz,” Koujaku sighed exhaustedly.

Noiz didn't respond for a long time, and when he did it was only by moving his foot out of the way and letting the latch fall into place. He waited outside the building, counted thirty seconds before shoving his hands in his pockets and turning away. He didn't go far.

“Brat,” Koujaku said, standing at the threshold with a second beer in hand. Beni's feathers puffed up angrily, but he remained quiet.

 

* * *

 "How come you never told him?”

Koujaku fished around in his kitchen drawers for a lighter, shoving things around and shutting cabinets roughly. Beni fluttered around uselessly, eventually landing on the coffee table in front of Noiz and settling into a grumpy ball of feathers.

“What?”

“How come you never told Aoba you liked him?” Noiz repeated. He lay sprawled on the couch casually, alcohol in hand, as if his presence in Koujaku's home was a daily and welcome occurrence.

“Why are you asking that all of a sudden?” Koujaku asked.

“I wanna know.”

“Not really any of your business...”

“So?”

Koujaku grumbled and slammed a drawer shut, giving up on his mission and settling back into the couch cushions. He handed another beer to Noiz, who accepted it eagerly.

“Fiending?” Noiz asked and chugged the rest of his already opened can.

“Yeah. Whatever,” Koujaku mumbled, opening his own beer. He stared off at the trees outside his living room window until Noiz tapped his thigh with his foot. Noiz waved a lighter he'd pulled out of his pocket at him.

“Didn't think you were a smoker,” Koujaku said, accepting it and promptly lighting up.

“Not cigarettes.” Noiz shrugged. “So?”

“So?”

“Aoba.”

Koujaku rolled his eyes and purposefully took a long drag, exhaled considerately away from Noiz as he returned the lighter. “I guess I'm not as confident as I thought,” he finally said. “And Aoba is a guy, so I mean...”

Noiz half-smiled and shook his head.

“What?” Koujaku asked, offended. “Haven't you ever been nervous about someone?”

“Not really,” Noiz answered. “I figure you'd know that after the last time I was here.”

Koujaku flushed at the memory, covered it by taking another drag. “Yeah, well...You and I don't work the same way,” he said with his exhale.

“You can say that again.” Noiz sat up and set his can on the coffee table – at which Beni growled – and planted his feet back on the ground, turned with purpose toward Koujaku.

“You look like you're about to interrogate me,” Koujaku said, although he stared at the boy indifferently.

Noiz hummed and crawled over him until Koujaku leaned awkwardly over the armrest at his back. With a few inches between their faces, Noiz purred at him, “So you've never actually been with a guy?”

“Is that what you took away from my answer?” Koujaku asked uncomfortably, pushing Noiz away. His cigarette-holding hand hung gracelessly off to the side so as not to accidentally burn either of them.

“Do you want to?” Noiz went on, moved back to his position somewhat above Koujaku and glanced down at his mouth. Koujaku glared at him.

“Why would I want to? Do you owe me something again?”

“Do you want me to owe you something?”

“That doesn't make any sense,” Koujaku wanted to say, but half way through the sentence Noiz's mouth pressed against his.

“Whaaaaat!” Beni cried, being utterly ignored by the both of them. “Okay, bye!” Flustered, the tiny sparrow flew off in the direction of Koujaku's bedroom.

Noiz held the kiss for several seconds with Koujaku not responding at all, but when he pulled away there wasn't any hint of shame in his expression.

“What are you doing?” Koujaku asked quietly.

“I don't know,” he said, and he kissed Koujaku again. This time Koujaku returned it, albeit as uncomfortably as he did anything with Noiz. It was a while after their tongues came into play, long after his cigarette had burned out and left a thin line of ash on the hard wood floor, before he finally relaxed and started getting into it, much to his partner's relief.

But as soon as he caught himself slipping, he broke away.

“This is really weird,” Koujaku said, tossing the filter and missing the ashtray on the table. His hands rested on Noiz's hips and did little other than toy with his belt loops. Noiz agreed, not missing a beat. He bit at Koujaku's ear playfully.

“We're drunk, right?” Koujaku asked.

“Sure,” Noiz breathed, sucking on his earlobe intently.

“How old are you again?”

Noiz softly laughed away from Koujaku's ear, then returned to toying with it.

“Really,” Koujaku continued. “You always avoid that question. Why do you do that...”

“Can we take this off?” Noiz tugged the edge of Koujaku's collar only to have his hands shoved away.

“Tell me how old you are.”

“It doesn't matter,” Noiz said calmly, making to pull at his collar again.

“It kinda does, actually,” Koujaku said. He grasped Noiz's hands with his own and crushed his fingers together.

“What, you think the shitty cops here are gonna bust your door down for playing with a little boy?” Noiz teased, weakly attempting to pull his hands free. “You weren't too worried about it last time.”

Koujaku glared at him and opened his mouth to argue, but an obnoxious jingle came suddenly from the coil at his wrist, distracting him for a moment. When he saw the name of the caller come up, his heart leapt out of his mouth.

“Aoba,” he breathed, shoving Noiz away roughly and jumping up from the couch. He took a step away and had nearly answered the call before he went still and said rudely, “Time to go, brat.”

Noiz only rolled his eyes, slid off the couch and left as quickly as his previous departure. “Later, old man.”

Koujaku didn't respond to him, only took off toward his bedroom and sat down impatiently on the bed. His wrist shook as he held it up to answer, and he took a deep breath that did nothing to calm his anxiety. It was all he could muster to pull a smile without seeming too eager and then hit the accept option. Several seconds passed with no sound coming from it at all, and for a brief second his heart sunk as he realised he may have answered to late. Then the video window came up and with it, Aoba's cheerful, sleepy face.

“Hippo. What took you so long?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gentle reminder that you can find me [here](http://hotyaoipizza.tumblr.com/) to drop some friendly conversation and suggestions for future fic ideas.


	4. Little Apple Blossom

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not much to say here, so I'll drop the [song](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gY78JHCP_rY) and be on my way.

Koujaku leaned against his free hand on the mattress, beaming at the familiar face on the screen. “It's so good to finally hear from you.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Aoba said. “I would have called sooner, but things have been kind of...” He peered off in a direction beyond the camera at his wrist.

Koujaku's grin fell into a more serious look as Aoba spoke. “I understand. It must be hard having such a mystery to solve.”

Aoba shook his head, forcing a smile. “I'll figure it out. How are things back home?”

 “Same as ever, it feels like,” Koujaku answered. “Even with Platinum Jail open to everyone.”

 “Granny said the same.” Aoba's features took on a more sincere happiness. “I feel so bad leaving her alone. She says she misses you too.”

 Guilt stabbed at Koujaku at the mention of her, but he masked it with the same robotic charm he'd grown accustomed to. “You know Tae is a strong lady, Aoba; give her some credit. She had to have known you'd take off at some point. Besides,” he added, “I'm sure she's relieved that I haven't stopped by to steal all her food recently.”

 Aoba couldn't repress his smile at his words. Koujaku breathed a slight sigh of relief.

 “But you will visit her for me soon, right?”

 “Of course.” _Anything for you_.

 “What about you, then? Any new girls I need to know about?” Aoba put on a more playful face with his second question.

 Koujaku blanched, images of his drunken shenanigans with Noiz running through his mind. “No. Definitely not.”

 “Ah, what a shame,” Aoba teased. “You never did seem like the type of guy to stay in a relationship for long.”

 “I guess not,” Koujaku laughed weakly. His heart sunk to the pit of his stomach in the silence that ensued. He watched Aoba stare down into his lap solemnly, absentmindedly petting what must have been Ren in sleep mode. Agonising moments passed before Koujaku squashed his own hurt feelings and finally asked, “Is something wrong? Where are you, even?”

 “No, no, everything's fine,” Aoba said honestly. “I'm safe, and I...I might be close to finding him, so...” He trailed off, chewing his lip nervously and glancing back into his lap again. “It's just been such a long journey,” he said after a while. “I don't want this to all be for nothing.”

 Koujaku agreed, unsure of what else to say. He forced down the painful hope bubbling in his chest as he added, “You know you've always got Midorijima to come back to if it doesn't work out.”

 “Maybe,” Aoba said. “I feel like I've gone too far to give up now, though. People are starting to warm up to me, I think, and it makes me feel like Mink is right around the corner.”

 “You might be right.” Just hearing his name made Koujaku's blood boil, and on top of it the sound of pure hope and the promise of relief in Aoba's voice made him cringe and burn with jealousy. But he continued to crush his own thoughts in favor of Aoba's smile. It would have to do if he couldn't have his heart instead.

 “Keep your chin up, Aoba,” he said near the end of their conversation. “You know what I say.”

 “'Don't give in,'” Aoba said earnestly.

 “No matter what.”

 “I won't,” Aoba said, sounding uplifted. “Thank you, Koujaku.”

 “What would you do without me?”

 “I don't know.” Aoba yawned and rubbed one of his eyes. “Sleep probably. I didn't realise there would be such a major time difference between here and Japan.”

“You'll call later, then?”

 “Of course. Hopefully with better news next time.”

 “I look forward to it.” Koujaku could have laughed at how easily the lie spilled out of his mouth.

 They exchanged their goodbyes as casually as ever, as if they were still just a short walk's distance apart and not hundreds and hundreds of miles, as if there were ever a chance of them speaking in person again.

 Koujaku broke the moment the call ended, sat upright with his arms around his abdomen like he'd been kicked in the gut. He stared at the floor, feeling sorry for himself and sick in the worst way, for more minutes than he cared to count. Then he gripped the edge of the bed and called to Beni resting in the windowsill above his headboard, who awoke in that strange mechanical way immediately and flew over to him.

 “Yo!–oh, Koujaku?” The innocent bird perched on his knee and stared up into his somber face. He said his friend and master's name sadly several times before forcing his way into Koujaku's palm, mimicking affection with the gentle rubbing of his tiny head against his fingers.

“Hey, it'll be alright, buddy...” Beni soothed, monitoring his heart rate carefully. But Koujaku remained unresponsive save for his thumb brushing over one of Beni's feathered wings.


	5. Crystalised

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is this? Could it be - a chapter that is actually a decent chapter length? Amazing. I don't know if this is going to happen again.
> 
> The [song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Jp2wNF1rkM) for this chapter has struck a particular chord with me and this ship in general, so I would strongly advise listening to this one if you've maybe been glossing over that part. It helps that it's a duet; I hear a lot of Noiz in the lyrics being sung by the guy and Koujaku in the girl's.
> 
> Edit 10/18: Some parts rewritten for the sake of adjusting the mood and stuff. I don't like laying on the angst too thick, that's for later.

“You cheating little punk!” A bright red-haired man, thin enough that his clothes seemed several sizes too small for him with a gaudy sleeve tattoo that signified his allegiance with a Rhyme team, cried out in a shrill voice. In front of him, Usui's deep shouts of victory contrasted with and overpowered his whining.

Noiz hummed in satisfaction at his triumph, snatching his bunny cubes from the air and reattaching them to the loop at his belt. His opponent growled and stomped about, significantly less pleased about having actually lost to someone.

“Someone's a sore loser,” Noiz said nonchalantly. He straightened his hat and adjusted the wraps on his hands.

“I want a rematch!” He howled. “Fight me again!”

Noiz turned his palms out in mock confusion. “Not much I can do about that, bro. Usui's gone.” And as if the words were a command, the people crowded around them began to disband as well, the previous excitement already simmering to nearly nothing. Soon the Rhymers were left facing each other alone with the exception of Noiz's team tiredly awaiting his word. He waved them off boredly; he could handle this small fry.

The man snarled and grew visibly agitated. “Tell me where the next location is and fight me!”

“You definitely don't have the money for that,” Noiz said disdainfully. “Why don't you just take me on here, hm?”

“What?! Are you some shitty Ribster too?”

“Hell no.” Noiz, nose wrinkled in disgust, casually walked toward him and double-checked his wraps. He flexed his right hand briefly, and in one fluid motion met the man's eyes and threw his fist into them. “You're just really annoying,” he said, calm as ever even as the man howled in pain and launched himself into Noiz's gut, knocking them both to the ground.

“Damn brat!” He screamed too close to Noiz's ear. He straddled Noiz's stomach and wailed on him gracelessly, clearly not an experienced real-life fighter as he landed few hits anywhere but the arms Noiz held up to block with, though he still managed to get some punches through that would bruise. Noiz squirmed roughly underneath him, but the fucker kept him down with surprising ease, fueled by rage-induced adrenaline. So Noiz changed tactic.

“You know,” Noiz grunted, “this is kinda turning me on.” He laughed internally at the shock that took over the man's face and his brief pause in pounding on his arms. Noiz rolled his hips up into the man's ass for effect.

“Gay freak!” He growled, finally landing a square hit to Noiz's mouth that he gave no response to, a ring on his middle finger catching at one of the metal spikes jutting from Noiz's bottom lip and tugging it violently. But even having struck him, Noiz managed to wiggle out from under him, nailing him hard in the temple once with his fist and kicking away.

“You ready to quit?” Noiz asked boredly.

“Fuck you!” The man grabbed at Noiz's ankle and was rewarded with a kick to the face. He instinctively covered his nose as blood began to pour from it through his fingers and onto the pavement.

“You're really stupid, huh,” Noiz said. He stood up and dusted himself off, considered just leaving the guy there but then had a thought, shoving him roughly onto his back with the bottom of his foot. The man groaned and easily turned over, far too concerned with his busted face to keep telling Noiz off. Noiz squatted next to him and rifled through his pockets.

“What kind of drugs are you on? I wonder.” He didn't care for the man's answer, didn't need to when seconds later his fingers came into contact with a familiar lightweight item. His brow came up in realisation, a pleased, exaggerated sound escaping his mouth.

“This is it, huh? I don't believe that.” Noiz said, waving a lovingly rolled joint in front of the man's bloodied and borderline delirious face. “But I guess you're smarter than I thought if you aren't carrying anything else on you.” He stood up straight and inspected his clothes, frowning at the minor blood splatters here and there.

“I'll take this for the shit you gave me just now; sound fair?” Noiz pocketed the illicit drugs and turned away, headed down the empty street as casually as if he were in the middle of an afternoon stroll. “Better luck next time.”

 

* * *

 

Noiz's fingertips dragged along the fence outlining a stranger's yard, thumping rapidly between the wooden planks as he grasped with his opposite hand a bunny cube dangling uselessly at his side and tore it from the loop. He tapped its side and tossed it gently into the air, letting it come to life and hover on its own.

“Noiz!” It squealed happily.

“How's it look?”

The cube made a noise of understanding, whirring around in circles around him and coming back at his side as it searched for an answer to his question. “Nothing broken,” it chirped, “but you seem to have lost a piercing in your mouth.”

Noiz felt around his bottom lip, and, sure enough, the left spike had been torn out and left a trail of blood down his chin. He scowled and smeared it off, wiping his hand on his pants.

“Please be more caref–“

“Perfect,” he interrupted, irritation evident in his voice as he snatched the cube back out of the air. “Thanks.” He tapped its side again and reattached it to the loop before any other high-pitched concerns could come from it.

The West District of Midorijima was completely dead at this hour, not to mention dark thanks to the poor upkeep of streetlights on the particular road he ambled along. Having taken this path a fair number of times by now, however, Noiz had memorised its twists and turns, and beyond that, the building he was headed for was hard to miss. Not entirely out of place but personalised enough to have made the owner obvious enough, Koujaku's house sat right in the middle of a plain neighborhood set in the same cookie-cutter style that the entirety of the West District seemed to follow. And the lights were even on inside; how convenient.

He rapped on the door with his fingernails, patiently awaiting the muffled sound of disgruntled footsteps and the unwilling turn of the metal key lock. When after several long seconds he heard nothing, he considered knocking again, but as he poised his fist to do so the door suddenly slid open. Revealed was a lazy-looking Koujaku dressed in nighttime clothing.

“You look like shit,” Koujaku said without greeting.

“You should see the other guy.”

“Is that your favorite line?”

“It's pretty clever, huh?” Noiz said, looking a little too pleased. “Can I clean up here, or...”

Koujaku closed his eyes and rested his temple against the thin edge of the door. “You walked all the way over just to ask me that?”

“I figured you wouldn't be able to deny me with an excuse like that.”

“Watch me.” Koujaku stepped out of the way of the door and began to close it, but as expected Noiz came forward and blocked him from doing so.

“It's dark and scary out here,” Noiz whined facetiously, to which Koujaku rolled his eyes. “What if some creeper jumps me and tries to steal my innocence?”

“Jesus christ, Noiz...”

“I'll just be a second,” he promised. “And I have something for you, even.”

Koujaku stared at him, suspicion apparent in his gaze. “I don't like the sound of that.”

“It's nothing bad.”

Koujaku's suspicious gaze only grew deeper, but somehow he found the sincerity in Noiz's statement and stepped aside to finally let him in, a sigh of regret already escaping him. Noiz dipped past him and made for the hallway bathroom, shutting the door quietly and flicking the light on.

The bathroom was nearly pristine, a genuine surprise based on how many guests Noiz guessed at having visited. Koujaku's reputation hadn't exactly escaped him in the time that he and those other strange guys, Clear and Mink, teamed up to help Aoba. The neat arrangement of the room reminded him uncomfortably of his own living space; surfaces dry and unused, bottles and toothbrush and other necessities all aligned in some manner that probably meant something to Koujaku and his morning routine. Koujaku might have had a tendency for cleanliness, or perhaps no one had been around in a while but himself to use it. Either way, after getting a good look at his damage, Noiz would be making a real mess of the sink.

While the water ran he pulled his hat off and dropped it on the ground, loosened his tie, then tugged his top shirt over his head with it and ran the bloodied areas under the steady flow of water that eventually began to steam. Truth be told, he had no fucking idea how to get rid of stains and was probably just wasting his time trying to scrub any of it out. And with that thought, he gave up. It wasn't like he couldn't just buy a new one anyways.

So he leaned over the sink and watched himself prod the bloody hole at his lip in the mirror, cursing the wirey man under his breath and briefly mourning the loss of a ¥6500 stud. How he managed to rip the entire thing out of his face still blew him away. It had already closed up, and dry brown flakes came off on his finger, his chin red where he smeared it earlier. He poked at it once with his tongue, getting a hint of the slight iron taste, before wetting his unfeeling hand once more in the steaming water and intending to rub away the blood. But when his heated flesh came into contact with his wound, he winced and pulled away.

The pain was short and slight, so slight he might have imagined it. Unconvinced, Noiz cupped his hand under the water and brought the small pool to his wound, covered it for less than a second before reacting again and dropping the liquid all over the front of his undershirt.

He winced. He _felt_ it, the wet heat that would leave numb blisters on the skin of his hands if he wasn't careful.

This time, the pain radiated from the wound and left a tingling sensation in the surrounding areas that went away slower than before. Noiz stared at himself, not recognising the emotion on his own paling face, listening to the only sound that registered in his mind, the heartbeart thudding in his ears and drowning out the rushing water in front of him. It echoed in his skull, felt suffocating and weird and not real and this is probably a dream? He was definitely dreaming.

“Noiz, are you alright?” Koujaku asked, sounding far away.

“Never been better,” Noiz said. Robotically, his hand came over the faucet and turned it off. Without that sound in the background, he slowly came back down to reality, tore his gaze away from the mirror and gathered up his hat and tie after drying off his hands.

Koujaku, with his arms crossed, waited outside the door for him, using all three of his inches to look down on Noiz with what might have been the concern of a father or brother – as if Noiz would know what either of those looked like. “You're done, then?” He asked.

“Not yet.” Noiz pushed past him, shoving his hat on poorly, and headed for the entryway. “Come on, grandpa.”

Some of Koujaku's dignity faded at the insult, but he complied, though not without casting a glare at the back of Noiz's head and then at the bloodied shirt left in the sink. Gross.

“What happened to you, anyway,” Koujaku asked once they were settled on his miniscule front porch. With no railing or even a simple bench to sit on, it was as bare and lifeless as the empty street the two faced.

“The usual,” Noiz answered. He dug around in his pockets, mild worry steadily darkening his features as he struggled to remember where he'd hastily hidden his prize from the evening's earlier battle. His concern melted away quickly after finding it. “Tough guys can't handle losing to some little gay boy.”

“I can empathise with that,” Koujaku muttered.

“Figured you would.” Noiz turned away for a moment, sounds of a lighter flick-flicking to life in front of his hidden face. Koujaku watched his torso shift with the effort of inhaling deeply, then shrink back to regular size as he exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. When they faced each other again, Noiz's expression was as indifferent as it had always been, though tinged with the hope that Koujaku might accept the rolled substance he offered.

“You're fucking kidding me,” Koujaku deadpanned.

“What's wrong?”

“You are!” Koujaku nearly yelled, suddenly hushed and looking over his shoulder as if Akushima himself were hiding in the bushes. “Is this what you call a gift? You fucking idiot.”

“I wouldn't say that,” Noiz said calmly. “More like sharing something of mine since I'm doing it too. Isn't that still nice of me?”

“Hardly,” Koujaku scoffed.

“Well, if you don't accept, I'll just have to smoke it all myself.” He raised the end to his lips again, staring Koujaku in the face as he inhaled a second time, challenge in his eyes.

“Damn brat.”

Noiz blew the smoke in his face. “Gonna be a damn brat you're babysitting for the night if you don't catch up, old man.”

“You know, there's a word for what you are–“

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah, it's called 'manipulative'. Ever heard that one?”

“Nope.” Noiz made it a point to look away from him and inhaled once more, saying on the exhale, “What's that even mean?” He swayed a bit, dizzy without realising it.

Koujaku smiled at him pitifully. “You look so stupid right now.”

“I don't _feel_ stupid,” Noiz said. A few beats went by before he glanced at Koujaku out of the corner of his eye, anticipating a response.

“You're such a wreck,” Koujaku sighed. “Give me that.”

Noiz frowned. “Now I don't want to.”

“I'm gonna look stupid with you, okay? I don't wanna watch you make an ass of yourself again and actually be sober for it,” Koujaku said. “Chill out.”

“Old fart telling me to chill out...” Noiz's frown deepened, but he handed off the blunt easily. Koujaku smoked confidently, although filling his lungs with something other than filtered cigarettes prompted a fit of sputtering and coughing. Still, Noiz applauded him. “Been a while since your last hit, huh?”

Koujaku cleared his throat into his fist. “You must do this a lot if you aren't coughing too.”

“Not really,” Noiz admitted. “Only when I get lucky, like today.”

“Yeah, real lucky.” Koujaku pointed at his own face, motioning to the areas where Noiz was battered. “You look lopsided without your other piercing.”

Noiz only shrugged. “Could have been a lot worse.”

Koujaku gently coughed out another cloud of smoke and passed back to him. “That's true,” he said, recalling his own losses and victories during his beginner days of Rib. “I guess there's some pain you don't forget, huh? Everything else kinda pales in comparison.” Struck by the weight of his own words, Koujaku gazed off somewhere down the street, absentmindedly rubbing his left shoulder through the fabric of his shirt.

Noiz held his breath for a long while, watching Koujaku out of the corner of his eye curiously. His gaze fell to the tattoos running along his arm and poking up where his shirt collar didn't quite cover them. “Don't let the drugs take you to a bad place,” he advised when he let out his breath and passed again. “That's the opposite of what I was going for.”

“Sorry. You're right,” Koujaku said, shook his head gently and glanced at the ground.

“What was that?”

Koujaku smiled. “Don't get used to hearing that one.”

Noiz hummed happily in response. Raising the end to his mouth, he finished off the last of it with a long breath and some very sudden, loud coughs into his fist. His throat burned with the smoke. More sensations to get used to, more pain. It'll be gone by morning, he told himself. Don't get used to it.

“Christ, you're gonna wake up the whole block,” Koujaku laughed. “Are you alright?” He fought the urge to reach out and thump Noiz on the back a few times.

“Yeah,” he wheezed.

“You sure? We can go inside...” Koujaku made for the door, but Noiz stopped him.

“It's fine. I'm fine,” Noiz insisted. “I'm great.” He stared Koujaku in the face for a long time, not letting go of his forearm and doing his best to put on a sincere expression in his intoxicated state.

Koujaku grinned at him. “Your eyes are really red,” he said.

“So are yours.”

“I was born that way, dumb ass.”

“Born stoned, huh.” Noiz smirked stupidly, far too pleased with his own joke.

Koujaku gave him another of his pitiful smiles, the ones that were a mix of embarrassment and disbelief at the bullshit spewing from Noiz's face. However, this only seemed to spur Noiz on, and before long he was laughing softly, eyes closed and growing silent in an effort to control it, with little success.

Noiz giggled himself into a fit, holding onto Koujaku now not to stop him from opening the door but to stop himself from falling to the ground. Under normal circumstances, Koujaku might have been irritated or at the very least confused by him, but by the time Noiz had gotten to the point of weakened knees, Koujaku was ready to roll on the porch with him, his soundless laughter strangely infectious. If you'd asked, he'd never admit it, but a part of him was struck in a pleasant way at seeing a genuine smile on Noiz's face.

“Why is it,” Koujaku asked when they had settled down some, “that we're always on something when we're able to put up with each other?”

“Probably the same reason we're always on something when we make out.”

He almost stopped him. Almost. Koujaku heard it, that tiny voice in the back of his head again, the one screaming Aoba's name each time he did something like this with Noiz, the one that shouted guilt at him after every girl he spent the night with. The one that reminded him of Ryuuhou, his tattoos, his mother, and couldn't allow him to live a normal life.

It tore him to bits, and more than anything he wished he could squash it. Perhaps this, the burying of his shame in others the way he'd always been doing, was the only way out. What a pitiful existence.

The kiss was all tongues right away, sloppier than their previous, more tentative one, if tentative could be used to describe anything between two men who were once baring teeth ready to tear at the other's throat. Noiz, more than eager, pressed himself up against Koujaku in all ways possible, Koujaku refusing to let him push him into the side of the house. Like a collar keeping him at bay, Koujaku kept his hand around Noiz's neck, the other at his lower back, holding him at a comfortable distance. Every now and then, Noiz would grind hard into him and moan in his mouth; each time, Koujaku felt the rumble of his throat in his hand and a faint stirring of heat elsewhere that mingled oddly with his high.

“We should really take this inside,” Koujaku urged.

“Why?” Noiz seemed to be in no hurry to go anywhere, eager as he was. He found his way comfortably past the waistband of Koujaku's bottoms, noting with pleasure that he had foregone any undergarments.

“Because of _that_ ,” Koujaku said. “We're in public, you know.”

“And?”

“And,” he said slowly. “I don't need the whole neighborhood knowing what I look and sound like when I,” he paused, scrambling for words, “...am in private.”

“Be quiet, then.”

Koujaku made an irritated noise, but, submitting to a young, pretty thing as he always found himself doing, he at least made an effort to turn it into less of a negative evening. It wasn't like it could get worse, anyway, could it?

"Honestly, what kind of a guy do you think I am?" Koujaku asked. Noiz flashed an increasingly attractive smirk and kissed him for it, but Koujaku pulled away again. "Are you even legal?" He asked, part in jest, but also hoping for a real answer this time.

"If I told you nineteen," Noiz conceded, "would you stop saying stupid things and do me already."

Koujaku fumbled for the edge of the door and, with a rough flick of the wrist, it slid open. Good enough, he told himself, as they tumbled back into the safety of a home that couldn't judge him for slipping up every now and then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ended up deciding to delete the previous chapter and merge it with this one since it was so short - meaning I also lost the two comments I got for it! Just wanted to apologise to those people and remind you all that I read every comment I get even if I don't always respond, and that they really make my day. Hopefully, I'll have planned my ideas out a little better in the future so things like this don't happen again. This fic seems to be taking me on a ride as much as the rest of you.


	6. I Never Said I Love You

Koujaku, leaning over a cheap push-broom, glanced around his spacious bedroom for stray hairs that might have crept into the corners and in-betweens of furniture. With a relieved sigh, he replaced it, seeing no more work to be done for the day.

His last appointment, a Japanese woman in the truest sense of the word with a respect for tradition that rivaled his own, had asked for a dramatic change in style that left him with more than a mess to pick up after even with careful, precise snips. She'd said it was symbolic of the coming transitions in her life, of a well-deserved promotion at work, of the following possibility of moving to the main island after a lifetime of isolation in Midorijima, and of a relationship – a point she stressed – coming to an abrupt end. She'd spent the better half of her visit going on about a boyfriend's lazy, near abusive nature, “nothing at all like you, Koujaku,” to which he'd responded with the appropriate 'aahs', 'mmms', and levels of shock and disgust when she'd give an example of just how terrible he could get.

It came as no surprise when she'd conveniently come up a few bills short and insisted on going down on him as both an apology and payment. Better than nothing, Koujaku supposed, yet he could only think, as she did so, that the style she was paying for wasn't the length it should have been, wasn't the right color. That her exaggerated moans weren't quite the pitch he'd wanted and that, try as she might, she would never fulfill the gap in his life the way she might have in another, likely more romantic, story.

Not that Noiz was doing a whole lot better in that regard. Their romantic night in several days from before had unraveled into a maelstrom of bad decisions, starting with sketchy, casual drug use and ending with Koujaku waking up the next morning alone and in a half-naked mess on the sofa after some fairly forgettable sex that came up on the sloppier and far more experimental end of his long list of experiences. Noiz not being there that morning was to be expected, of course, but the lingering feeling of loneliness Koujaku couldn't quite shake certainly wasn't. Still, there was a sense of relief in not having to put up with another awkward morning after that usually ensued with one night stands.

Given the recent events, it was only fitting that he should also receive Aoba's call later that evening just as he'd settled down and considered the week finished.

Beni was first to greet him once his image projected up out of Koujaku's coil. Aoba gave a broad, infectious grin at the tiny bird and returned his greeting.

“I hope I'm not calling too late,” Aoba said. “It wasn't, uh,” he already fumbled, noticeable blush creeping up his neck. “It wasn't easy waking up early this morning.”

“You can call me whenever you need to,” Koujaku assured. “Did something happen?”

“Uh,” Aoba started, and his blush went even deeper. “Nothing bad, really,” he stammered out. “I just, um... I found him.” Aoba's hand came up to his neck nervously. Only then did Koujaku notice the braids done up in his hair; careful, tightly woven strands that were slightly frayed from sleep. “It was actually a few days ago, but I... I've been a little caught up with it all.”

Koujaku nodded for lack of a response. “He's okay with you having tracked him down, then? Is he treating you well?”

Aoba flushed again and chewed his bottom lip. “Yeah. I still have a lot to learn about him after all, but,” and here he met Koujaku's eyes as well as a tiny lens at his wrist would allow. “We'll make it work. Somehow.”

Koujaku took a deep breath and willed the color back into his face. “It's a real relief to know that you're okay, Aoba. You know,” he paused, trying to find polite enough words instead of letting the bile rise out of his throat. “I've never trusted anyone who has hurt you, but I'm glad you're safe.”

Aoba idly teased the end of one braid. “You're not wrong to be concerned, Koujaku. I know after what happened in Platinum Jail it sounds crazy for me to have done this. Mink is so much different now, though. I wish I could even explain how–“

The distant sound of a door creaking open made Aoba seize up and look over his shoulder. Ren could be heard quickly padding toward him, that robotic, deep voice giving a good morning as Aoba pulled him into his lap. He was followed by Tori, who flew in and landed on the perch set up in the living area where Aoba waited. The large bird said something too far away for Koujaku to hear, to which Aoba gave an assent and turned back to the coil conversation. He apologised quickly without explanation.

“It's fine,” Koujaku said.

Beni flapped a wing hurriedly at Koujaku's face. “Where's Ren?”

Koujaku obediently moved the coil up to Beni at the same moment Aoba lifted Ren to eye-level and nuzzled his fluffy collared neck.

“Hello, Beni.”

“Yo! I missed you,” Beni said enthusiastically. “What's with leaving so fast?”

“Sorry. That was out of my control,” Ren admitted. “But I have missed you a lot as well.”

“I think we're all missing each other right now,” Aoba said, letting Ren back down. “I wanted to apologise for that, too. I should have given more warning.”

“No need,” Koujaku said. “It was sudden, I mean. I knew you were a little torn up after coming back from Platinum Jail, but I wish you would have let me know sooner. And I wish you would have taken someone with you.” Hearing this, Aoba gazed down into his lap and fluffed Ren's fur gently, a pouting child being scolded by an older brother. “But you're happy, aren't you?” Koujaku relented. “You'll just have to make up for disappearing by telling us about your adventures whenever you come back.”

Aoba gave a weak smile. “Yeah. When I get back.”

Koujaku's own smile melted away at Aoba's solemn tone. _  
_

Aoba looked over his shoulder again, responding to a noise Koujaku hadn't heard. The man responsible for it only partially came into view, his low voice barely picking up on Aoba's microphone as they held a brief conversation, more words on Aoba's end than the other. Aoba turned away, thinking the discussion to be over with, when Mink came up behind him, a behemoth of a man next to Aoba's slight frame, with his hands placed at his shoulders and kissed him swiftly at the corner of his left eye. He then left without another word, Tori following suit.

Aoba, frozen in horror and burning red down to the ends of his toes, refused to make eye contact with Koujaku. “I'm sorry.”

“It's okay,” Koujaku said heavily, not realising he'd been holding his breath.

“No, really–”

“It's okay.”

“He's not normally–”

“It's okay.”

“–like that. Koujaku, I–”

“Aoba,” he said, and it was with a sternness he hadn't intended. He took a moment to calm his racing heart and force himself to relax. It should have been obvious, he told himself. Where else could his relationship have gone with Mink? Aoba was hard not to love, after all. He laughed bitterly at the thought and took advantage of the smile it put on his face.

“I really am happy for you,” he said. “I am.” When Aoba didn't speak, he went on: “You've always been an important friend to me, Aoba. Always, even when I went to the main island for all that time, even if we're as far apart as we are now. I won't judge you for any decisions you make as long as they're what you truly want. Honestly.”

As the blood of shame drained away from Aoba's face, the corners of his mouth turned up and his eyes softened into an expression of sincerity. “I appreciate it, Koujaku. As embarrassing as that was,” he added with a mumble. “I know you don't approve of him – neither does Granny. But it means a lot to me to have your support even if you don't. I just wish there was a way I could prove to the both of you what a change has come over him...”

Koujaku sighed deeply. “Time will tell, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Aoba nodded and stared down at an ever-pensive Ren in his lap who had gone quiet. They all did, and it was Beni who broke the silence.

“We'll see you around then, huh, Aoba?”

Aoba smirked. “Yeah. Eventually. I can't be away from home forever.”

“Well, the boss and I aren't going anywhere, okay?” The tiny bird said. “We'll be here when you need us.”

“Thanks, Beni. Take care of each other in the meantime.”

“Will do!” Beni puffed up proudly.

“Koujaku,” Aoba said, pulling him away from a trance he'd slipped into during the silence. “Thank you, again. I'll call soon, okay?”

Koujaku nodded, didn't say a word, and waited for Aoba to disconnect the call.

Beni immediately spoke to him when the window closed. “Boss,” he said with all the rightful nervousness of prey confronting predator. “You're in bad shape. Don't let today be the day,” he warned.

Koujaku stared at nothing; deep, hot breaths escaped his open mouth. Heart pounding in his chest, he raked his fingers through his hair and took hold of it, curling in on himself. Hot breaths became rasps, an animalistic rumbling that got shallower with each intake.

“This is bad, Koujaku,” tentative Beni said. “Don't let him win.”

Koujaku growled as if he were stabbed by Beni's words and tightened his grip on his hair, near threatening to tear it out. Just as well, considering the color that began seeping into the ends of it.

Beni removed himself from Koujaku's shoulder and spoke to him urgently from the corner of the bed. “Don't let it happen after what you told him. This isn't what Aoba would want to see.”

More pained moans, more struggling for control as Koujaku edged closer and closer to failing Aoba completely. His rasps became choked sobs without losing any of their intensity and his vision blurred red. The heated skin under his tattoos throbbed. He wailed in agony.

"Come on, boss, you have to calm down,” Beni said cautiously. “It'll be okay.”

That was the final push he needed to rip his hands away from his face and enclose one of them around a now panicked Beni who thrashed feebly against Koujaku's iron grip. He didn't give Beni another opportunity to speak before throwing him violently against the wall, an act of emotion that shut him down instantly with the force of the collision and busted the tiny robot into several pieces.

With that, quick as it came, all color and emotion seemingly drained right out of him, and an exhausted apathy took its place. Cradling the broken pieces of Beni as if they were only the remnants of a favorite drinking glass or broken photo frame, he placed them on the vanity mostly out of sight – a project to deal with at a different time, in a more sound place. He moved through the nighttime routine without really being present for it and hardly took off his clothes before he crawled wearily into bed. Minutes later, he slept like a corpse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :3c  
> Have some [salt](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28BO2eMY7Z8) for the wound


	7. Zucker

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been way too long, but finally we have an update from Noiz's POV this time. It's short, and I don't have a song for it this time, but I really did put effort into this one, so I hope this does it for you for now. :D

“Noiz!”

He grimaced at the robotic, shrill sound of his name and braced himself for impact. A light whirring sound came from the bedroom where he'd slept the night before, quickly growing louder and louder until the source of it located him and closed the distance between their faces.

“Pi!” The bunny cube squeaked as it collided with his cheek. “Good morning, Noiz!”

Noiz grunted and flopped face-first into the soft, quality cushions – which felt neither soft nor quality – of the couch he'd spent his morning on mulling over an “improved” Usui, who had become nothing more than several lines of his personally written code that he was, unfortunately, considering wiping out completely given the severe tapering off of Rhyme and loss of business there, as well as communicating with what was left of Ruff Rabbit. It had become a chore, recently, one he saw few reasons to continue with, and he grew more and more tired of it every day. The screens hovering in the space around him vanished, and he turned over to lie on his back.

So instead of work, he mused over the events that had occurred since the wall came down, all up until the night with Koujaku where an inebriated kiss quickly became sloppily bumping around in the living room with Koujaku 100% out of his mind and Noiz uncharacteristically okay with being thrown onto his belly and topped. It was easier than he thought, managing to make all the sounds of an orgasm he hadn't ever felt right before Koujaku decided his tired old bones had had enough of the night. Once Koujaku had given a clueless and sort of slurred thanks and fell asleep, Noiz made his escape. There were probably better ways to go about the evening. Noiz pretended it was enough.

“Noiz!” The cube from before interrupted. “You are wearing us out with all your worrying.”

“Weird,” he said with usual coldness. “Must be time to do some maintenance... or get replacements for the older models.” He tacked on the last part as he inspected one of the powered-down bunnies that lie on the coffee table to his left and found it to be somewhat damaged, if only superficially. “Why don't you order that for me?”

“Yes, sir!”

Noiz picked himself up off the couch when the cube went quiet and paced the spacious, sun-lit living room with his hands resting on top of his head, careful not to strain recent inner arm injuries beneath thoroughly wrapped gauze and bandages. Freshly bruised and still tender, a sensation Noiz was only beginning to understand, the flesh twisted with the angle of his arm and gave just enough sting to remind him that it was real, he could definitely feel it now, and that the revelation from the evening before hadn't all been a cruel nightmare.

With that in mind, he breathed deeply, touched the healed-over skin where the piercing had torn out of his lip and made a mental note to get it re-pierced soon. Then he approached the window, squinting at the sun that crept up into his eyes. His tiny sidekicks had been warning him on a daily basis that the end of summer heat could make him delirious if he didn't take care, a warning he only partially heeded when he'd finally decided to open the window and forego the second pair of pants when he awoke that morning. So far they hadn't complained, though he himself was fully aware how well long sleeves and dark pants functioned under the sun. A little overheating might have been worth it, anyway, if it meant that at last he could feel what that truly meant.

“They'll be here tomorrow morning,” the cube chirped.

“Slow,” Noiz commented, staring out the open window at the busy street below. He grumbled when the cube blocked his view and slammed into his cheek again with that irritating squeak. “Cut it out. Who taught you about kissing, anyway?”

“You did.”

“I haven't kissed anyone,” he said flatly.

“Liar! You are always kissing Koujaku!” The bunny whirred excitedly in circles around him.

“That's gross. Why would I kiss an old man?”

“Because kisses are for people you love!”

Noiz made a gagging sound in his throat. “I don't love that guy.”

“Then why do you kiss him?”

Noiz didn't have an immediate answer. He idly played with the bar in his tongue as he stared at the rooftops outside. Whatever he was doing with Koujaku had mostly started off as a game to get under his skin, some sort of failed rebound after the loss of Aoba that wasn't really supposed to go anywhere. Yet he found himself returning time after time for one reason or another, sometimes what felt like no reason at all. He chalked it up to loneliness and recalled something he had read once about the inherent human need for positive interaction and physical contact or some shit.

Well, that was fine. It wasn't a new feeling.

“Noiz likes Koujaku,” the cube sang. “He has a crush. Crush, crush, crush–“

“How is he, anyway?”

“Eh?”

Noiz relaxed his arms at his sides and turned away from the window. “We haven't checked up on him in a while. Why don't we see what the old man's up to?”

The rest of the bunny cubes scattered about the room came to life one by one then, chirping excitedly at their 'mama' Noiz. He scoffed at the nickname, but when they chattered amongst themselves about teasing little Beni at Koujaku's house, he almost smiled. Modern day AI were really becoming good at picking up their owners' behavior, weren't they?

“Hurry up, or you're getting left behind,” Noiz said, already making for the door. The bunnies flocked about him and waited obediently to be attached at his hip, going quiet after he had done so. And Noiz pondered out loud, as he walked, to their unanswering little bodies about how Koujaku must be in such a mess after the last time they encountered him.

What they would find at their destination, however, was someone new entirely.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what foreshadowing is, I'm sorry.
> 
> With summer and work out of the way, the goal is that I'll get back into updating more regularly, although no real chance on it being a weekly or even monthly basis yet. I am concerned with keeping my readers happy, but I hope you guys understand that this is still a fun thing for me, and that the last thing I want to do is make a story I've loved weaving in my head become a chore to put down on paper/word document. Which is why I try not to give myself deadlines.  
> Anyway! Thank you to whoever has been keeping up all this time for continuing to read. You guys are so patient. And don't forget that contacting me through [tumblr](http://brazuu.tumblr.com/) is still 100% okay.


End file.
